Condition
Intact.
Description
Flaring rim; elongated ovoid body; conical base. The entire vessel bears wheel-cut decoration. There are two parallel incisions below the lip, followed by a wide smooth band on the transition to the body that is delineated by a relief rib. The main body area is covered with three rows of lozenge-shaped facets, forming a very regular and tight-faceted pattern. The top and bottom rows have rounded upper ends. Below this band there is a wide, smooth band that has eliminated the ending of the bottom row of facets; this band is delineated at the bottom by a high and angular rib. The edge of the base is also carefully cut at an angle. At the center of the bottom there is a raised ring (W. 0.55 cm).
Comments and Comparanda
For comments on the material, see cat. 251.
This beaker belongs to a group of possibly molded, probably blown and polished vessels, comprising conical and ovoid beakers, bowls, jars, and spoons, which are all made of thick decolorized glass (Foy, Danièle, Françoise Labaune-Jean, Caroline Leblond, Chantal Martin Pruvot, Marie-Thérèse Marty, Claire Massart, Claudine Munier, Laudine Robin, Janick Roussel-Ode, and Bernard Gratuze. 2019. Verres incolores de l’antiquité́ romaine en Gaule et aux marges de la Gaule. Archaeopress Roman archaeology 42. Oxford: Archaeopress., vol. 1, pp. 13–14). The technique of facet-cutting on glass was invented in Italy in the late 60s or early 70s CE, when transparent colorless glass became fashionable; facets are clearly visible on transparent glass and thus the result was much appreciated. In particular, ovoid beakers—sometimes elongated like this vessel and sometimes almost spherical—decorated at the center of the body with oval, circular, or lozenge facets flanked by flat or protruding zones are dated to the late first through early second centuries CE, and all published examples are found in the western and northern provinces of the Roman Empire (Foy, Danièle, Françoise Labaune-Jean, Caroline Leblond, Chantal Martin Pruvot, Marie-Thérèse Marty, Claire Massart, Claudine Munier, Laudine Robin, Janick Roussel-Ode, and Bernard Gratuze. 2019. Verres incolores de l’antiquité́ romaine en Gaule et aux marges de la Gaule. Archaeopress Roman archaeology 42. Oxford: Archaeopress., vol. 1, pp. 26–27, form IN 18).
Provenance
1986, Private Collection [sold, Ancient and Islamic Glass, Ancient Jewellery and Silver, Middle Eastern, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities, Sotheby’s, London, July 14, 1986, lot 60, to Hans Benzian]; 1986–1994, Hans Benzian (Lucerne, Switzerland) [sold, The Benzian Collection of Ancient and Islamic Glass, Sotheby’s, London, July 7, 1994, lot 138]; 1996, Phoenix Ancient Art S.A. (Geneva, Switzerland), by exchange with the J. Paul Getty Museum, 1996
Bibliography
Antiquities, July 14, 1986, sale cat. London: Sotheby’s., lot no. 60.
Benzian, Hans, Dragisa Momirovic, and Sotheby’s. 1994. The Benzian Collection of Ancient and Islamic Glass, 7 July 1994, sale cat. London: Sotheby’s., lot no. 138.
“The J. Paul Getty Trust Report: 97–98.” Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Trust, 1998., p. 68.
Wight, Karol. 2011. Molten Color: Glassmaking in Antiquity. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum., pp. 77, 89, fig. 62.
Exhibitions
None